Good for frogs and salamanders: pond restoration in the Maasheggen

The Province of North Brabant has disposed of a grant application for restoration and construction of pools in the Maasheggen. The project will start in the fall of 2019 and aims to restore 28 pools in the Maasheggen area and construct 35 new pools. Also, 120 pools from Staatsbosbeheer will be inventoried for quality for amphibians and plants. The application was made by the Vereniging Nederlands Cultuurlandschap together with RAVON, FLORON, EIS Kenniscentrum Insecten, the Butterfly Foundation, Staatsbosbeheer and Het Brabants Landschap.

Pools are inextricably linked to the Maas hedge landscape. Just look at the map to see how many pools there used to be between the hedgerows. These drinking pools were dug to ensure that cattle could drink sufficiently during the hot summer months. In early spring, toads, frogs and salamanders, which live in the hedgerows, deposit their eggs here.

Crested newt

The crested newt is an important species in the area, yet it is no longer common. For the crested newt, pools should not be too far apart. If one pool dries up, they can crawl to another. In addition, not all ponds are suitable for crested newts. For example, puddles that have been dug too deep or too steep, or puddles that have not been managed for years and are now growing into willow thickets. Many pools are also full of fish. And that seems to bother the crested newt a lot. If there are fish in a puddle, there are almost never crested newts and probably no larvae will grow up. Therefore, it is good if a pond occasionally runs dry. Then the fish will die and the crested newt will migrate back to the pool when it is full of water.

Recovery measures

RAVON starts with a good inventory of the area. Where are there still crested newts? From there we strengthen the network with well-managed pools and new pools - in the right location. When restoring ponds, you can think about making them fish-free, creating an extra land zone around the ponds, making a pond less deep or combating invasive species. The project runs until 2022.